A warning for parents after a baby was thrown from a car seat during a wreck
HENRY COUNTY, Ga. - A mother has a warning for parents after her infant child was thrown from a car seat during a car crash in Henry County.
Hannah McKinney said her daughter, who was two months old at the time, was strapped in the car seat but slid through the straps during the crash.
She landed on the floor of the vehicle and had to be taken to the hospital for injuries.
"She was strapped down in this little tiny stretcher and It just broke me," McKinney said. "...God truly had his hands on her."
McKinney believes Sheepskin covers she placed on the straps inside the car seat may have contributed to her daughter being thrown from it.
She says she took a safety class at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta following the incident when experts at the hospital shared that information.
"They can slide down their shirt," McKinney said. "I thought, 'oh, wow' they are so soft...I never knew that they would hurt her."
FOX 5's Marissa Mitchell spoke with child passenger safety specialist Johanna Martinez, who works with Children's. Martinez said Thursday she couldn't speak specifically to McKinney's case.
However, she recommends that parents refrain from altering car seats in any way.
"You never want to add anything to a car seat that didn’t come with it," Martinez warned. "They are crash tested as they are manufactured."
McKinney shared a post on Facebook about the incident and her lesson on safety. It was shared more than 70,000 times as of Thursday evening.
The post reads:
"PSA to all parents and soon to be parents! These were on my 2 month old daughters car seat when she was involved in a flip over car accident. The vehicle cart wheeled twice and rested on its side, She was ejected from the seat due to the sheep skin seat belt covers. When we got to the vehicle all straps were tight and in tact plus car seat still in base still attached to seat but with the force of the vehicle the sheep skin slid against her shirt and made her go flying out. Please please please people DO NOT put things on a car seat that did not come that way from the manufacturer. Plus anything on a car seat in a accident voids the warranty! We had to learn the hard way and I thank god everyday that he had his hands on her! They may look cute and it may be soft but for your child’s safety don’t do it. We attended a car seat safety class at children’s health care of Atlanta and it was a real eye opener."